Fifth-seeded Penn State men’s soccer fell 1-0 to fourth-seeded Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night in Bloomington, Indiana.

A first-half goal for the Hoosiers gave Indiana the leg up, and Penn State was just not able to overcome their defense in the second half of the match.

How It Happened

The first ten minutes of play showcased just how tight of a matchup this game would be. The Hoosiers had a few sequences leading them to Penn State’s goal, but the Nittany Lion’s defense quickly knocked them down.

Despite Indiana pressing hard on Penn State’s half, Jeff Cook’s squad was prepared for this kind of play, especially after its last matchup that resulted in a Penn State loss.

Indiana’s Ryan Wittenbrink recorded the first shot of the night in the 16th minute after he beat Penn State’s defensive line. The shot went just wide of goal but had it been on target, Kris Shakes would have had to pull off an incredible save.

Pete Mangione took the first shot for Penn State in the 30th minute but was not able to bring Penn State into the lead as his shot just barely missed the goal.

After coming off the bench in the 35th minute, Lika Bezerra took a shot for the Hoosiers but it bounced back out of the box where Wittenbrink was wide open and waiting. He took the shot right at the 18 and the ball soared low through Penn State’s defense, sinking the back right of the net. Bezerra was given the assist and Indiana went up 1-0.

With less than a minute left in the half, Indiana took its tenth corner which had the potential to stir up trouble in Penn State’s box, but the Nittany Lions stuck it out for the last few seconds and kept the score at 1-0 going into the second half.

The Nittany Lions tried to get on the board early in the second half. Mangione almost had a shot, but he fumbled the ball and missed. Penn State still held control and eventually Jalen Watson took a shot, but his shot went over the top of the goal.

Olu Ogunwale was given a yellow card in the 61st minute for a tackle on an Indiana forward. Play was quick to resume though and Ogunwale was set to receive an Indiana attempt to swap possession, but he had a bad touch that forced Shakes out of the box to clear the area.

Penn State received two more yellow cards in the 68th minute after Andrew Privett and Alex Stevenson challenged Indiana’s Brett Bebej, who left the field for what looked like some sort of injury to his left foot.

Indiana’s Maouloune Goumballe was given a yellow card for pressing too hard on Liam Butts as Butts made a run down the sideline in the 83rd minute. Seth Kuhn took the resulting free kick and Privett was ready with a shot, but it was off target.

In the 89th minute, Penn State earned a corner kick, giving the Nittany Lions potentially their last shot at the equalizer. Every player for the Nittany Lions was pushed up, even Shakes. Butts had a shot but it was blocked, and the bounce off was received by Ogunwale who took another shot just after but went just wide.

The last minute was a nail-biter for Penn State and the Nittany Lions were just not able to tie up the game. The Hoosiers took the 1-0 win.

Takeaways

• The Nittany Lions took the defensive strategy this match, spending much of their time countering Indiana’s attack. Moving into the second half, Penn State took a more offensive approach. Even though the Nittany Lions took the majority of their shots in the last 45 minutes, but were not able to get the accuracy they needed.
• Pete Mangione and Seth Kuhn were named to the All-Big Ten first team earlier in the day and were definitely leaders on the field for Penn State. Kuhn was key in the offensive setup for the Nittany Lions and Mangione showcased his abilities both offensively and defensively.

What’s next?

Penn State will not advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.